Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe 2015, 2nd ODI at Dhaka Preview: Pumped hosts look to seal series against rattled visitors

The aim for the hosts Bangladesh when they take on their visitors from Africa in the second One-Day International (ODI) at Dhaka will be to wrap the three-match series by scoring yet another win over the struggling Zimbabweans. Zimbabwe‘s extremely deflating run in international cricket, which includes successive defeats at home to India, New Zealand, Pakistan and then to make it all worse they were beaten by associates Afghanistan in both ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), showed no signs of letting up in the first game which they lost by 145 runs! SCORECARD: Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe 2015, 2nd ODI

Zimbabwe’s bowlers started off the proceedings promisingly having Bangladesh’s backs against the wall at 30 for two but a seventy-run partnership between Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim alleviated the pressure and put Bangladesh right on track. Rahim played solidly through the innings and was involved in another big partnership with Sabbir Rahman who scored 57 runs. Ultimately Rahim fell to the run out mode of dismissal but had scored a hundred by then and his effort helped Bangladesh to a formidable total of 273 for nine in 50 overs.

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What started as only a challenging total soon evolved into an unreachable target for the Zimbabweans after they were reduced to 54 for three by the end of of the 15th over and thereafter lost wickets in an extended cluster. The only two knocks of note came from the bats of Luke Jongwe and Elton Chigumbura with the former scoring 39 and Chigumbura managing 41. Shakib Al Hasan was the pick of the bowlers getting deliveries in with characteristic accuracy and guile to take a fifer.

Bangladesh have the home advantage and have the wood on Zimbabwe after the emphatic display in the first game in addition to which they are better in terms of sheer quality especially in home conditions where they have previously consigned teams like India, Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa to series defeats in the ODI format. Zimbabwe can expect a similar fate to be sealed in the second ODI; a win for them seems highly improbable.

Time: 13:00 local | 07:00 GMT | 12:30 IST

Squads:

Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Al-Amin Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Imrul Kayes, Jubair Hossain, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Liton Das, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal

Zimbabwe: Elton Chigumbura (c), Regis Chakabva (wk), Chamu Chibhabha, Tendai Chisoro, Graeme Cremer, Craig Ervine, Luke Jongwe, Neville Madziva, Wellington Masakadza, Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Taurai Muzarabani, John Nyumbu, Tinashe Panyangara, Sikandar Raza, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams